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Sunday, October 18, 2009

Angels and Accordions at Green-Wood Cemetery

Please click to enlarge to see details

The angels in the mosaic above are just a few of the many beautiful statues found in Green-Wood Cemetery, located at 500 25th Street in Brooklyn, New York. Founded in 1838, as one of America's first rural cemeteries, Green-Wood Cemetery soon developed an international reputation for its magnificent beauty and became a fashionable place to be buried. Its 478 acres of hills, valleys, glacial ponds and paths contain the largest outdoor collection of 19th and 20th century statuary and mausoleums. Many famous Americans are buried here, and among its 500,00 permanent residents are Louis Comfort Tiffany, Boss Tweed, Leonard Bernstein, Henry Ward Beecher, and Horace Greeley. In 2006 Green-Wood was designated a National Historic Landmark.

This is one of my favorite residents, the Indian Princess "Do Hum Me" (1824–1843) She tragically died only five weeks after her marriage. If you click on and enlarge the mosaic above you can read the inscriptions on her grave stone and see the bas relief plaque depiction of her grieving husband by artist Robert Launitz.

My husband and I have been volunteers at Green-Wood Cemetery for many years assisting with the Civil War Veteran Project, in which approximately 3,300 Civil War veterans buried in Green-Wood have been identified. We are still in the process of finding more veterans in the cemetery records and on the grounds. The above stones are new ones ordered from the Veteran's Administration to replace the worn ones in the background of the two Prentiss brothers. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, one brother fought for the north, and one for the south, and both were mortally wounded in the 1865 siege of Petersburg, Virginia. They reconciled on the battle field in an emotional scene, and died within months of each other. A third brother who lived in Brooklyn had them buried side by side at Green-Wood.

Please click on to enlarge to see details

Last weekend, as part of the "Open House New York" event, Green-Wood Cemetery hosted "Angels and Accordions," a beautiful musical and dance performance choreographed by Martha Bowers of Dance Theatre Etcetera, features a cast of 30 dancers, original music by Guy Klucevsek and Bob Goldberg, played live by a band of accordionists, and included a visual installation inside the Catacombs designed by photographer Alexander Heilner. It was truly a beautiful performance as the dancers portrayed both mouners and angels and then went on to pose in the cemetery as watchful living angels.

I am linking this postt to Mary of The Little Red House Mosaic Monday blog event. Please visit Mary's blog today to see links to other blogs participating today with their beautiful and interesting mosaics.

Old cemeteries hold so much interesting history and you have depicted this one beautifully. The angel mosaic is gorgeous and each one is beautiful. This is a wonderful post that I have enjoyed very much.

This is absolutely fabulous.....I, too am very interested in ancestry and of course that takes one to old cemeteries.Love the "Angels and Accordions" event...terrific.Thanks for sharing this with the rest of us!

How interesting this is, Pat. I've never heard of anything quite like this, and it is so great that they didn't involve anything so mundane as ghosts. I much prefer angels! And that cemetery looks beautiful. I love old cemeteries.

I did a post about my cousin's former house in the Vineyard. Wasn't it you who asked me some time back if my pictures were of the lighthouse there? It was, and now I posted about his mariner's cottage remodeling. It's very simply furnished, and I like that because it makes the architecture stand out more. I love MV!!!

This was a wonderful post. Beautiful angels. I have always enjoyed visiting cemeteries, especially the few years I lived in the Lexington - Concord area of MA. The graveyards were so interesting and I spent many a day, wandering about, reading all the headstones and wondering what the lives of those resting there had been like.

Such an intersting post! Of course my heart went out to the poor Indian Princess, but I am also in awe that you and your husband volunteer your time for such a worthy cause. Kudos to both of you. And your mosaic is beautiful!

What a great blog! Cemeteries can be quiet relaxing places and the beauty of all the angels are lovely. I love the idea of the "live" angels and the open day, I have never heard of anything like that before.

It is great that you and your hubby are volunteers.

We have Brookwood Cemetery near us http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookwood_Cemetery where there are the graves of 468 American military dead and a further 563 with no known grave are commemorated.

I've always liked the angels or mourning ladies statues they put in cemeteries, it's strange I know, but that's it. That's why I love so much the Pere Lachaise in Paris, and I collect pics from the net from places around the world...

A fascinating post Pat. The statuary in the Green-Wood Cemetary is beautiful--it speaks eloquently of a bygone era. How neat that you and your husband volunteer there. I wonder how many brothers at that time were divided by war? So glad those two reconciled at the end. Angels and Accordians sounds (and looks) very interesting.

Hi Pat,Another very interesting post! Kudos on your volunteer work.There are some very old cemetaries here in Southampton that are interesting.I remember when I was growing up in Huntington visiting the old rural cemeteries to read the headstones. The historical society here sponsors grave stone rubbing class trips.

I love your mosaics! The angels are especially kewl and the photo of the people with umbrellas caught my eye especially. Wonderful variety. Thanks for dropping by and have a lovely week.Hugs and blessings,

Hello Pat, the Green-Wood cemetery has quite a past. I enjoyed enlarging the photos, especially the beautiful statuary. How beautiful they all are. The famous people who are buried there is impressive. The story of the Indian princess and the many Civil War veterans make for an interesting story. I would like to visit there.

The pink brownstone is kind of shocking. I don't remember when you posted it earlier. The inside is gorgeous though. I hope the couple sell and are happy in a smaller place. We moved to a much smaller home and we love it. Less square feet by a thousand, but our rooms are all large. Perfect for when our large family gathers together.

I've read about this cemetary before and am always fascinated to discover there's more to learn. Such places are beautiful and intriguing. While I try always to respectful and remember that the residents were once living beings, it is lovely to see the various headstones and markers.

This is one place in Brooklyn that I did get a chance to visit while my daughter was living there...she lived very close to the cemetary and we took a nice long walk through it one day...right now I don't know why I didn't have my camera with me! Great angel pictures! I love the mosaic!

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About Me

Hello and welcome!
I'm Pat, a lifelong New Yorker who has recently moved to a suburb of Denver in the beautiful state of Colorado, so that I can live close to my children and grandchildren. I look forward to learning many new things about my new "mile high" city and I will share them on my blog.
New York City will always be my second home, and I will also continue to share many posts about it.
My blog's name in Italian means a "Thousand Favorite Flowers." I chose this unusual blog name because researching and writing for my blog, and taking photogrpahs for it, is like another "memory flower" that I am collecting in my bouquet of life.
I hope you will enjoy your visit to my blog and that you will leave a comment so that I know you've been here.
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